Michael Froman, Ambassador for the Office of the U.S. Trade
Representative, overturned the ruling from the U.S. International
Trade Commission earlier this summer which had granted Apple's
rival Samsung an import ban on five Apple devices.

Froman's letter to ITC chairman Irving
Williamson, delivered this weekend, says that it is his
responsibility to protect any company from "gaining undue
leverage" over a competitive market. "The Administration is
committed to promoting innovation and economic progress,
including through providing adequate and effective protection
and enforcement of intellectual property rights," Froman says
in the letter.

"We are disappointed that the U.S. Trade Representative has
decided to set aside the exclusion order issued by the U.S.
International Trade Commission (ITC)," said a Samsung
spokesperson in an email. "The ITC's decision correctly
recognized that Samsung has been negotiating in good faith and
that Apple remains unwilling to take a license."

On June 4, the ITC, the U.S. agency that serves as a
watchdog on international trade, ruled in favor of
Samsung's patent and limited the ability of Apple to sell some
older smartphone products. The affected Apple products were
the iPhone 4 AT&T model, the iPhone 3GS AT&T model,
the iPhone 3 AT&T model, the iPad 3G AT&T model and
the iPad 3G AT&T model, according to the statement from
the Commission.

Froman at the U.S. Trade Commission had 60 days to review the
decision from the ITC. Samsung still has the ability to defend
its patent through the courts.